1. Unit 2 A Growing Nation
America

2. Snapshot of the Period
1831 French writer Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America and wrote about American culture
By 1870 industrialism, population growth, economic changes, and the Civil War had all aged the nation’s spirit
Distinctly American writers were produced

4. Industrialism

7. Walt Whitman

8. Henry David Thoreau

9. Edgar Allan Poe

11. Ralph Waldo Emerson

12. Emily Dickinson

13. Essential Questions
What is the relationship between place and literature?
How does literature shape or reflect society?
What makes American Literature American?

14. Historical Background The American Renaissance (1800-1870)
European Renaissance – Rebirth of classical art and learning. Took place in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries
1800 America’s capital moved from Philadelphia to Washington D.C.
1800 Library of Congress established.

15. Philadelphia

16. Washington D.C.

17. Library of Congress

19. Steam, Steel, and Spirit
1803 Thomas Jefferson doubled the nations size by signing the Louisiana Purchase
Canals, turnpikes steamboats and railroads multiplied
After California was added the gold rush of 1849 drew thousands of people to CA looking to get rich

24. Factories sprang up in the Northeast, new farm tools encouraged aggressive settlement of the new territories
Telegraph made almost instant communication possible across America

25. The Slow March of Democracy
1828 President Andrew Jackson ushered in the era of the common man as property rights for voting had been eliminated
Only white men could vote; women and Native Americans could not vote, and most African Americans remained slaves.
Native Americans forced to move west because of the policy of “Indian Removal”

26. Andrew Jackson

29. On The World Stag
War or 1812
1823 The Monroe Doctrine - warned Europe not to intervene with new Latin American Nations
1830’s Texas succeeded from Mexico – became a state in 1845 – U.S. goes to war with Mexico and wins, adds more territory to the nation, including california.

32. Winds of Change America becomes divided because of slavery
Abolitionists argued that slavery was morally wrong
Advocates of states’ rights argued that the issue of slavery was not a federal issue
Conflict over states’ rights eventually led to the war between the states

33. Next Time… The American Renaissance
What is the relationship between place and literature?

34. Exit Slip This period has three major historical developments:
Physical expansion and technological progress lay the foundation for an american cultural flowering.
Democracy advanced, although women, Native Americans, and African Americans did not fully share in it.
The conflict over Slavery eventually led to a civil war
Come up with a short news paper headline for each of these developments